Services Available to Transition Atlantic City Casino Workers to New Job Opportunities, Training, Unemployment Benefits

TRENTON – Governor Chris Christie, whose administration has been helping casino workers prepare for re-employment since three Atlantic City casino closings were announced earlier this summer, will deploy more than 35 staffers from the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development to further assist those workers when their union opens the Atlantic City Unites Here Center at the Atlantic City Convention Center on Wednesday, Sept. 3.

The partnership with the Unite Here union, which represents many casino workers in Atlantic City, is designed to offer a wide range of assistance and relief to workers affected by the closures of Showboat Atlantic City Hotel and Casino on Aug. 31, and the Revel Casino Hotel, which will begin shutting down operations on Sept. 1. The center is opening at 9 a.m. inside the convention hall, in space being provided by the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA), and will remain open through Sept. 10, with Department of Labor staff complimenting services the workers’ union plans to offer at its Atlantic City Unites Here Center. The union activities will range from linking workers to social services to helping anyone concerned about making mortgage payments.

“Our department has been focused on the potential casino closures in Atlantic City since the beginning of the year when the Atlantic Club Casino closed,” said Labor Commissioner Harold J. Wirths. “Since June, we have been assisting with internal job fairs and meeting with workers inside the Showboat, Revel and Trump Casino, which will also close in September, to help workers transition into new jobs and understand the re-employment services, job training opportunities and unemployment insurance benefits we can provide for them until they find a new job.”

The Department of Labor has been developing plans to assist affected workers in coordination with the casinos, Atlantic City officials, several South Jersey county leaders and other key partners, including the New Jersey Hospitality, Tourism and Retail Talent Network; Atlantic Cape May and Cumberland Salem Workforce Investment Boards; the Atlantic Cape Community College, and business organizations and state and local economic development organizations. Workers will continue to be linked with the department’s Rapid Response services.

Rapid Response services include orientation sessions on programs and services available to displaced workers including unemployment insurance benefits, job training opportunities, skills assessments, resume development, job search assistance and referrals to Jersey Job Clubs. All of those services will be available at the Atlantic City Unites Here Center when it opens its doors at 9 a.m. Wednesday at 1 Convention Blvd, Atlantic City.

“This is the single largest deployment of Department of Labor staff we’ve ever had in response to a local employment event,” said Commissioner Wirths. “We have managed to assist people in New Jersey through the Great Recession and the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy. We hope to help everyone who is impacted by the Atlantic City casino closings find new jobs in this tumultuous time in their lives.”

The Center will continue to be open through Sept. 10 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Attendees will be issued numbered tickets, with priority given to the first 1,000 attendees each day to keep the center services orderly and effective. Unite Here will be releasing further details on its center today.

To keep alert to all state Department of Labor activities and services regarding Atlantic City, go to www.Jobs4Jersey.com and click on the Atlantic City Reemployment button.

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